Thomas and the Special Letter
Thomas and the Special Letter is the twenty-second episode of the fourth season. It aired in the US on the Shining Time Station episode One of the Family in 1995. Plot Thomas is surprised to see some of the engines traveling to Tidmouth Sheds and follows them to get to the bottom of the matter. It turns out the first eight engines have been invited to the big city by a little girl eager to meet the engines, and the others are to do their work. Thomas is paired with Oliver to show him his branch line. Thomas is feeling excited and boasts about his race with Bertie, unluckily crashing through the buffers and into a wall. The workmen race to repair Thomas in time for the trip, and manage to do so just in time. Characters * Thomas * Percy * Toby * Donald * Annie and Clarabel * Sir Topham Hatt * Edward (does not speak) * Henry (does not speak) * Gordon (does not speak) * James (does not speak) * Duck (does not speak) * Douglas (does not speak) * Oliver (does not speak) * Bill and Ben (do not speak) * BoCo (does not speak) * Mavis (does not speak) * Henrietta (cameo) * Jeremiah Jobling (cameo) * The Refreshment Lady (cameo) * Bertie (mentioned) Locations * Elsbridge * Tidmouth Sheds * Shunting Yards Trivia * This episode is based on the story The Fat Controller's Engines from The Railway Series book, The Eight Famous Engines. * This is the 100th episode of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. * The first season episode, Thomas and Bertie, is referenced. * The picture of Duke from Bulldog can be seen in Sir Topham Hatt's office. * The Italian title of this episode is "A Special Letter". The German title is "A Very Special Letter". Goofs * When Thomas says "I think something is up" a door can be heard closing. * Steam is venting from the line that Mavis and BoCo take through Elsbridge. * Douglas is seen when the narrator says Donald spoke. * In Toby's third close-up his face is loose. * Annie is facing backwards during the close-up of Thomas' driver. * Sir Topham Hatt calls all of the engines to Tidmouth Sheds to read the letter, but only Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Duck, Annie, and Clarabel go to the big city. * When Thomas and Percy first leave Elsbridge Toby isn't in his siding, but Henrietta is still there. * In Thomas and Bertie Thomas remembers stopping "an inch from the buffers" after his race with Bertie. Though he may be exaggerating for effect, there are no buffers seen when Thomas stops at Ffarquhar after his race with Bertie. * It should have been impossible to repair Thomas' buffers in the space of a day with the damage he took. * As Henry leaves Elsbridge, one of his wheels is loose. * In the Big City shed, Percy's cab roof is lifted slightly. * In the scene of the engines waiting for Thomas, James has a different whistle sound and Gordon has Duck's whistle sound. * Donald and Duck have the same whistle sound and Douglas has a different whistle sound. * During the panning shot of the engines when Sir Topham Hatt reads the little girl's letter, James and Gordon's eyes are wonky. * When Thomas starts talking to Oliver, some of the steam from his funnel disappears, indicating a film cut. * In the American narration, the term truck is used. * Mavis has a different horn sound. * A brakevan should have been added to Edward and Duck's train. Merchandise * Take-Along Gallery File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetteroriginalUKtitlecard.jpg|Original UK title card Image:Gordon.png Image:DysonandCo.PNG|Dyson lorry File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter1.jpg|The Engines in the Big City shed File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter2.jpg File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter3.jpg|Annie File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter4.jpg|Annie, Oliver, and Thomas File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter5.jpg|Duck, Toby, and Percy File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter6.jpg|James, Thomas, and Percy File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter7.jpg File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter8.jpg|Percy and Thomas File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter9.jpg File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter10.jpg|Thomas and Oliver File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter11.jpg File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter13.jpg|Toby and Thomas Image:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter14.png Image:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter15.png Image:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter16.png Image:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter17.png Image:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter18.png Image:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter19.jpg|Henry, James, and Thomas Image:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter20.jpg|Percy, Edward, and Gordon Image:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter21.png Image:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter22.jpeg Image:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter23.PNG File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter24.png File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter25.jpg File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter26.jpg File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter27.jpg File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter28.jpg File:ThomasandtheSpecialLetter29.jpg Category:Season 4 episodes Category:Episodes